


Tacet

by actuallyasweetpotato



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, F/M, Not A Fix-It, Pining, Secret Santa 2k19, ish but everyone knows how its supposed to end :/
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22060855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actuallyasweetpotato/pseuds/actuallyasweetpotato
Summary: Orpheus sings for his love. His voice echoes back in the emptiness of the Underworld, painfully absent of the voice he wants to hear. Still, he presses on. He does not falter.aka, a retelling of Orpheus' biggest bruh moment
Relationships: Eurydice wife of Orpheus/Orpheus (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 12





	Tacet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Icelandic_Flutterby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Icelandic_Flutterby/gifts).



> This is a secret santa gift for IcelandicFlutterby aka Monarch of Titles in our art discord server called [clever art name]! Merry belated christmas and happy new year!

Orpheus sings.

He sings with every inch of his sorrow poured into his voice- his mourning weeping past his lips and pouring into the air before him. His voice trembles. 

He does not falter.

He begins his journey, a twisted pilgrimage. The doors of the Underworld open to his voice, and he ventures in, holding back the violent shudder that rips through his body.

The Underworld is teeming with death. Small wraiths and wisps watch him from behind stalagmites and stalactites, and ghosts of conversation linger in the white mist he exhales. Narrowed eyes glimmer from the darkness.

It's an audience. But it's not the audience he wants. He wants to hear her giggles when he sings a particularly cheesy line, or her over-eager, yet valiant attempts at harmonizing. Eurydice. Just mentioning her name... The sudden wave of longing fills his eyes and steals the breath from him, but he pours it into his song instead.

He does not falter.

He, somehow, miraculously, gains an audience with the King and Queen of the Underworld. They stare at him, faces and hearts stone, unblinking, lips pursed in cold fury that a mortal managed to lament his way into hell.

He does not falter.

But, he only needs a second. Just a moment, when their ears are open to him, and his music- his first love, his last resort- will worm its way into their hearts and pry them open.  _ Please. _

The King and Queen crack before him, lonely tears tracking down their faces. The creatures accompanying them crack too, their faces contorting with wails and sobs, replacing the snarls and sharp teeth. It doesn't make them any less frightening, though. His hands shake, but he manages to artfully pass it off as fancy technique.

He does not falter.

The King and Queen dab at their tears, Don't look back, they tell him, your love will follow shortly after. Orpheus hums and plucks at the strings all the while. It soothes him, but more than anything it keeps the monsters' eyes wet with tears rather than alight with suspicion and hunger. 

The minute the King and Queen wave him off he bows, turns around, and leaves immediately.

He does not falter.

Strumming his lyre, he walks past the fields of the spirits of the dead. Their hands reach out for him, straining, grasping. Orpheus sets his jaw and brushes through them. It feels like he’s been doused in ice cold water.

He does not falter.

It’s been forever since they’ve (or is it just him?) last seen each other. His sandaled foot kicks aside a stray rock, and it tumbles into the black abyss below. It fades into the darkness, and he can’t hear it drop, even with the echo the low ceiling provides.

He does not falter.

His singing has become something of second nature, something done as easily as breathing or walking. But try as he might, Orpheus couldn’t tune it out enough to hear the footsteps more clearly. Was it just the echo of his own feet? Was he walking alone to the surface, while Eurydice was still underground? But, no, Hades and Persephone had been moved to tears over his music; they couldn’t have tricked him.

He does not falter.

The speck of light grows larger and larger, fresh air and warm sunlight tantalizingly close. He could almost taste her sweet smile, feel the softness of her hair between his fingers, the bright glow of her attention on him. 

It has been so long.

But was it really her? Have they deceived him into leaving the Underworld by himself? The only thing that was separating them was… nothing. There was nothing separating them. He could simply turn around, and just see her. Was it so wrong to want to gaze upon his love?

He… does not falter.

His hands ached from strumming the strings of the lyre, and his throat strained. Was Eurydice really there? Surely she would’ve given him some sort of signal, some hint, to show that she was there. Was he just imagining the sound of her soft breathing behind him? Was this really a fool’s journey after all?

He steps into the warm, blessedly warm sunlight. He pauses his strumming and-

He falters.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment and let me know what yall thought of this fic! Its my first published fic uwu


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